Perceived Impact, Needs, and Resources of Grandparents of Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Qualitative Study.

Grandparents play different roles in families of children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. They are frequently engaged in caregiving tasks with the person on the autism spectrum, providing emotional and instrumental support to the family. However, despite their frequent involvement and the importance of their role in the family, there are few studies that address the experiences of these grandparents, particularly in the Spanish and southern Europe context. This study explores the impact and needs of having a grandchild on the autism spectrum and the resources that grandparents have and use to face the difficulties that arise. A semi-structured interview was carried out with 17 grandparents of children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. We conducted a coding reliability thematic analysis of the impact and used a quantitative content analysis of grandparents' needs and resources. Results indicated three main aspects related to the impact: personal growth, wanting to help and not being able to, and suffering at three levels: for themselves, their sons and daughters, and grandchildren. Grandparents perceived needs in four contexts: their own needs, the needs of the nuclear family, the needs of the person on the autism spectrum, and the needs of society. The most frequent needs were informational and management of behavioral difficulties. In the resources, the most frequently used strategies were religious beliefs and informal support seeking. It is essential to address the quality of parents-grandparents' relationships, and include grandparents in intervention programmes, as a way of addressing grandparents' needs.

The relationship between family quality of life, mindful attention, and social support in families of people with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: In families of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the added difficulties they face may influence their perception of family quality of life (FQoL). It is important to identify factors which foster their perceived wellbeing and are susceptible to intervention. Our aim was to explore the association between mindful attention and FQoL in these families controlling their perceived social support. Method: Ninety-six parents of people with ASD were evaluated using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Support Questionnaire for Parents with Children with Disability, and the Spanish Family Quality of Life Scale for families with underage members with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that high levels of mindful attention positively predicted FQoL after controlling the influence of social support. Conclusions: Practical implications are discussed in terms of family support interventions. We conclude that mindful attention interventions may be useful for families with children and adolescents with ASD to improve their FQoL.

An Integrated Analysis of the Impact of Spanish Family Support Programmes with Informed Evidence / Un análisis integrado del impacto de los programas españoles de apoyo familiar basados en la evidencia

A description is made of the quality of Spanish family support programmes, based on their impact, dissemination, scaling up in communities, and sustainability; 57 implemented programmes with informed evidence were selected by EurofamNet. Most of the programmes were shown to make a positive impact, using quantitative methodologies, and they were manualized, while about half of them defined the core contents and included professional training. From a cluster analysis of programmes with scaling up, those with a high and moderate level of systematization were identified, based on the existence of defined core contents, implementation conditions, institutional support, professional training, and reports of findings. The highly systematized programmes were characterized by a greater use of mixed methodologies, their scientific dissemination through different means, and their inclusion in services. A programme quality analysis is proposed, taking an integrated approach that relates the programme’s impact with its design, implementation, and evaluation of sustainability.(AU)

En este trabajo se presenta una descripción de la calidad de los programas españoles de apoyo a las familias, basándose en su impacto, difusión, diseminación institucional y sostenibilidad. En el marco de EurofamNet se seleccionaron 57 programas implementados con evidencia fundamentada. La mayoría de los programas mostraron un impacto positivo utilizando metodologías cuantitativas y estaban manualizados, mientras que cerca de la mitad de ellos definían los contenidos clave e incluían la formación de los profesionales. A partir de un análisis de conglomerados se identificaron los que tenían un nivel de sistematización alto y moderado, definidos los contenidos clave y las condiciones de implementación, apoyo institucional, formación profesional e informes de resultados. Los programas con alto nivel de sistematización se caracterizaron por un mayor uso de metodologías mixtas, su difusión científica a través de diferentes medios y su inclusión en las instituciones. Se propone un análisis de la calidad de los programas, con un enfoque integrado que relacione el impacto del programa con su diseño, implementación y la evaluación de la sostenibilidad.(AU)

Protocol for the Implementation and Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregivers of Children with Mental Disorders in a Clinical Setting.

Being a parent is complicated in typical circumstances, with a great psychological impact as well as feelings and experiences of great intensity. This impact is greater in families in vulnerable situations, such as those with children with mental health problems, receiving treatment in a clinical setting. Due to these challenges, parenting in these circumstances is often accompanied by experiences of stress. An approach that has shown evidence of effectiveness in mitigating the negative impact of stress is mindfulness-based interventions, including the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction intervention program. The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction intervention program is designed as a psychoeducational, instructional, multimodal, and structured program whose main objective is to provide strategies for the management, coping, and awareness of stress in order to reduce it. In this paper, a protocol for the implementation and evaluation of the original Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction intervention program with the added positive parenting component is presented, in order to systematize the incorporation of a parenting component in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction intervention program, analyze its effectiveness for parents whose children have mental health problems (in terms of stress, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, general health, and parental role), explore the mechanisms of change operating in this intervention as perceived by the participants, and examine the application of acquired strategies to daily life.

"So, I told him to look for friends!" Barriers and protecting factors that may facilitate inclusion for children with Language Disorder in everyday social settings: Cross-cultural qualitative interviews with parents.

PURPOSE: Although researchers have explored parental perspectives on childhood speech and language disorders, this work has mostly been conducted in English-speaking countries. Little is known about parental experiences across countries. Participation in the COST Action IS1406 'Enhancing children's oral language skills across Europe and beyond' provided an opportunity to conduct cross-cultural qualitative interviews. The aims were to explore how parents construe inclusion and/or exclusion of their child and how parents involve themselves in order to facilitate inclusion. METHOD: Parents from nine countries and with a child who had received services for speech-language disorder participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data. RESULTS: Two overarching themes were identified: 'Language disabilities led to social exclusion' and 'Promoting pathways to social inclusion'. Two subthemes were identified Interpersonal relationships are important and Deliberate proactiveness as stepping stones for social inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: Across countries, parents report that their children's hidden disability causes misunderstandings that can lead to social exclusion and that they are important advocates for their children. It is important that the voices and experiences of parents of children with developmental disabilities are understood and acknowledged. Parents' recommendations about how to support social inclusion need to be addressed at all levels of society.

Family Functioning in Families of Adolescents with Mental Health Disorders: The Role of Parenting Alliance.

This study primarily examined the predictive role of emotional and behavioral disorders in family cohesion and the moderating role of parenting alliance. Adolescents' mental health issues are a major concern, with important implications for individuals and their families. However, the impact of mental disorders on family processes has been less widely studied. Participants in this study were 72 parents of adolescent beneficiaries of mental health services. Questionnaires assessed family cohesion, parenting alliance, and sociodemographic factors. Results indicated that emotional and behavioral disorders did not have an influence on family cohesion. They also suggested that parenting alliance may be a protective factor for family cohesion. This paper highlights the role of parenting alliance as a potential protective factor in positive family processes. These findings support the importance of focusing on the parental subsystem in therapy, and the need to incorporate a positive parenting perspective when working with these families.

Exploring Parental Perspectives of Childhood Speech and Language Disorders Across 10 Countries: A Pilot Qualitative Study.

Purpose Although researchers have explored parental perspectives of childhood speech and language disorders, most studies have been conducted in English-speaking countries. Little is known about parental experiences across countries, where procedures of language screening and services for language disorders differ. The authors participated in the COST 1 Action network IS1406, "Enhancing Children's Oral Language Skills Across Europe and Beyond," which provided an opportunity to conduct cross-country qualitative interviews with parents. The aim of this pilot study was to explore ways in which parents construed and described speech and language disorders across countries. Method Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with parents from 10 families in 10 different countries. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The overall theme was "acknowledging parental expertise." The parents described, in detail, ways in which their children's speech and language (dis)abilities had an impact on the children's everyday life. Three subthemes were identified: impairment, disability, and changes over time. Conclusions The findings suggest that, across a range of countries, parents demonstrated contextualized understandings of their children's speech and language (dis)abilities, along with the everyday functional implications of the disorders. Hence, despite not holding professional knowledge about language disorders, the voices, views, understandings, and personal experiences of parents in relation to their child's disorder should be listened to when planning therapy services. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14109881.

Effectiveness of Structural⁻Strategic Family Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescents with Mental Health Problems and Their Families.

Mental health problems during adolescence constitute a major public health concern today for both families and stakeholders. Accordingly, different family-based interventions have emerged as an effective treatment for adolescents with certain disorders. Specifically, there is evidence of the effectiveness of concrete approaches of systemic family therapy on the symptoms of adolescents and family functioning in general. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of other relevant approaches, such as structural and strategic family therapy, incorporating parent⁻child or parental dyadic measurement. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a structural⁻strategic family therapy with adolescents involved in mental health services and their families. For this purpose, 41 parents and adolescents who participated in this treatment were interviewed at pre-test and post-test, providing information on adolescent behavior problems, parental sense of competence, parental practices, parenting alliance, and family functioning. Regardless of participants' gender, adolescents exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing problems after the treatment. Parents reported higher family cohesion, higher satisfaction and perceived efficacy as a parent, and healthier parental practices (less authoritarian and permissive practices, as well as more authoritative ones). An interaction effect between parenting alliance and gender was found, with more favorable results for the mothers. In conclusion, this paper provides evidence of the usefulness of structural⁻strategic family therapy for improving family, dyadic, and individual facets in families with adolescents exhibiting mental health problems.